Publication: Sunday Sun
Paper Page: 32A
Paper Date: Sun, Mar 14, 1999
Byline: Terry Ally
ONE MILLION pounds of garbage.
That's how much refuse was found in a west coast gully yesterday and authorities are going back for more today. When that is complete, an army of general workers will comb the watercourse of Sailor Gully, St. Peter to manually remove what the excavators could not. The gully is suspected of being a major breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmit the dengue fever.
The quantity of garbage was deceptive.
When acting chief public health inspector for the north, Ashley Greenidge, and his officers visited the area with a Nation team on February 23, they estimated it to be between 20 to 30 tonnes and appealed for private sector assistance. That appeal was answered by Roger Manning of Black Bess Quarry who supplied two trucks and two excavators. Soon after sunrise yesterday, they discovered it was not 20, 30 , 40 or 100 tonnes which were hidden from view, it was much more and included everything from chasses to pots and pans. One rare find was an antique cash register. By 3 p.m yesterday they removed an estimated 500 tonnes. The operation was a major one with the excavator having to cut roads at two levels to access the garbage.
Two trucks from the Sanitation Service Authority were also there to cart away the garbage to the Mangrove Pond Landfill yesterday and another two will be added today along with another two from the private sector. The total operation is estimated at $20 000.
"We are hoping to clean-up the north before the landfill (Greenland) opens, or we may not be able to control illegal dumping," said Greenidge.
He explained that people may not want to travel to Greenland and seek alternative spots and they aim to circumvent this. Senior public health inspector Robert Broomes said they want to get a health-oriented neighbourhood watch established where residents would be alert for illegal dumpers and report them to the authorities and perhaps to lobby Government to establish a nature trail.